Her eyes widen. “Arewegoing to turn to mountains someday?”
God, I need to get the lore for my fictional world straight one of these days.
“Maybe, or maybe we’ll be birds. Who knows?”
“Do I get to decide?”
“I think so,” I say, nodding slowly. “Some people choose to be big and tall like mountains, and others choose to fly.”
“What about fish? Can I be a fish someday?”
I really don’t know what this conversation is about anymore, and I’m one hundred percent certain that I’m going to get an email from the summer camp teacher with concerns over the stories Cora’s telling everyone about becoming a fish, or a mountain, or a bird… but I’m already in this deep.
“Yeah, in a hundred years you get to choose.” I nod toward the water’s edge. “I know there are more of those rocks down there. You should see how many you can find.”
“Yeah!” She jumps up and down in the sand, a wide grin on her face. “I can figure out what all their secrets are because I have a kind heart.”
My chest warms. “That you do, little bug.”
She’s knee-deep in the lake when I hear voices behind me. I already know it’s Violet, though I try to play it cool and act like I haven’t been thinking about her non-stop since this morning, but my body turns toward her instinctively. She’s wearing a small pink bikini with a crocheted white cover that leaves nothing to the imagination. I’m not sure what I expected, given that it’s the first sunny day we’ve had in weeks, but it wasn’t this.
Her friend Bella could be wearing the Eiffel Tower on her head and I wouldn’t notice. No offense to Bella, but I’m not sure anyone would. Violet is all bouncing tits and wind-blown hair. I can’t look away.
Why the fuck can’t I look away? Why is my entire body aching to bend her over right here in the sand? Whydo I want to fuck her hard and fast, fill her up, hear her sounds?
Jesus Christ, what am I even saying? She’s my best buddy’s daughter. She’s twenty years younger than me. I need to get a grip.
Swallowing hard, I wave politely. “You ladies need any help?”
“No, I think we’ve got everything,” Violet says, “but your line is pulling like maybe you caught something.”
I’m still too focused on her body to understand what she’s said, which could be bad, though she’s still smiling, so whatever it is can’t be that important.
“Your line, Dad!” Cora shouts, distracting me long enough that I look back to see my pole bent into the water.
“Oh, shoot!” I grab the pole from the sand spike and begin to reel. Whatever it is, it’s light, though it’s my first catch of the season, and there’s always a little thrill with that.
“Trout,” Violet says, setting her chair down next to mine. “Little small. What is he… twelve inches?”
I’m fucked if twelve inches isn’t impressive.Thankfully, the kids interrupt me before I digress.
“That’s a floppy fish, Dad!” Cora squats down next to it at the shore as Jake jumps up and down beside her, his brown hair bouncing in the wind as his laughter carries across the lake, bright and unrestrained.
I love seeing him excited.
“You happy to see the fish, buddy?”
He’s smiling as he nods and points toward the water, as though he wants me to put the trout back where it belongs.
Violet is already next to me with the pliers from my fishing box, like we’ve done this a thousand times before, and this behavior is something that’s becoming very common. At home, she’s handing me a napkin before I know I need one, and when we’re out in the barn, she’s clearing out the path as soon as I pick up the feed, making sure I don’t trip. Every time before I need something, she’s right there with it.
Hell, the woman even knew I wanted an apple pie last week, and I didn’t even mention it. It’s borderline telepathy.
As we get closer, her hand brushes against mine while she uses the pliers to take the hook out of the fish. I would’ve done it, but she didn’t hesitate and I wasn’t going to push her away, not when her tit keeps rubbing against my arm and the smell of whatever floral shampoo she uses is surrounding me.
“There we go.” Violet grins. “Do you want to put him back in the water, Jake?”
“Wait, Dad!” Cora grabs my phone from the folding chair and points it up toward Violet and I. “You almost forgot to get your picture with the fish!”
